I'm not a huge fan of sparkling wines
myself, but I'll still always try them as I will give anything a
chance. The reason I don't care for them more is because of the
carbon dioxide. I tend to enjoy wines that have softer bubbles. If
you are a lover of sparkling wines and in particular champagne than
this article is for you.
Berlucchi headquarters
The Lombardy region of Italy located in
the north central part of Italy, bordering Switzerland to the north,
is known for it's sparkling wines. Two areas of Lombardy are known
for their sparkling wines including the Oltrepo Pavese and the
Franciacorta areas. Two out of 5 DOCG designations of this wine
region in Lombardy are from these areas including the Franciacorta
DOCG and the Oltrepo Pavese Metodo Classico “classic method”. According to Wikipedia, Franciacorta DOCG is the only DOCG allowed to
not list DOCG on the label at the wineries discretion, so if you
don't see it doesn't mean it's not a DOCG. This area is located
along Lake Iseo where the soils are morainic, providing good drainage
that helps add minerality to the wines of this area.
Azelles vineyard at Berlucchi winery
Today I'm sharing with you a '61
Franciacorta Brut from a producer you must know, Berlucchi. This
winery and the parnership between Guido Berlucchi and winemaker,
Franco Ziliani, is what drew the world to recognize Italy as becoming
a competitor in the world of wines when it comes to sparkling wines.
The Berlucchi winery first released what was then known as Pinot di
Franciacorta in 1961. What's unique about the sparkling wines of
Franciacorta is the method in which they are produced. They are
produced using the famous Champagne method known as Methode
Champenoise or in Italian as Metodo Classico.
Ziliani family
The Berlucchi '61 Franciacorta Brut is
made up of 90% chardonnay and 10% pinot noir. It's crystal clear and
a golden yellow. On the nose it was florally with notes of
honeysuckle along with some minerality and yeast. On the palate it
was dry and medium bodied with a creamy effervescense with a golden
apple finish. Perfect celebration wine! Wine-searcher.com lists the
average price as $19.
Chardonnay grape clusters
Riddling the Franciacorta, known as pupitres
Fun fact: According to Berlucchi's
site, after 50 years of history the Berlucchi winery was granted an
official Italian postage stamp displaying it's impact on the “Made
in Italy” mentality.
The wines of Franciacorta are sure to
rival those of France and Champagne so the next time you are
considering a bottle of bubbly consider Lombardy and better yet,
Franciacorta.
Most pictures compliments of the Berlucchi winery.
Last week we covered Barolo from
southern Piedmont, in particular a Barolo
from Monforte d'Alba from the Langhe area. Today I'm going to share a
wine from northern Piedmont, also known as the Alto Piemonte. This
area has been producing wines for years, but has been overlooked by
the wine coming out of southern Piedmont. In northern Piedmont there are a variety of
influences including the Alpine climate along with the glacial soil, known
as morainic soil, that is full of minerals from the glacial lakes
that were formed.
The difference of nebbiolo from the north & south of Piedmont The nebbiolo wines of the Alto Piemonte differ
from nebbiolo of the Langhe and southern Piedmont. They typically will
have higher acidity, lower alcohol levels and more minerality due to
the morainic soils, which create wines that are leaner. The area of
Gattinara received it's DOCG designation in 1990. This area consists
of steep slopes and shares similarities with the other nearby DOCG
designation of Ghemme. There are some slight differences in the
percentages of varietals, alcohol levels and aging. These are some
of the best known appellations of northern Piedmont.
Mauro Franchino has been producing wine
in Gattinara in the Vercelli province since 1962 with about 7 acres
of land. The 2008 Mauro Franchino Gattinara DOCG was garnet red with
slight brick color. It had a very complex and intense nose. The
wine had notes of earth, maraschino cherry, violet, roses, and some
nutmeg spice. On the palate it was dry, full bodied with firm
tannins. The wine was fermented partly in concrete for a couple
weeks and then aged for 4 years in oak casks with an additional 6
months in the bottle. By law the Gattinara DOCG requires that these
wines age for at least 36 months with at least 12 of those years in
oak barrels.
Which nebbiolo wines do you prefer, northern or southern Piedmont or perhaps another region like the one we are covering next week, Lombardy?
The Coppo winery is located n the
Piedmont region of Italy within the city of Canelli. The founder of
Coppo, Piero Coppo, first started their wine production with
sparkling Moscato. As time progressed and the need for drier wines
was demanded by the market, Coppo started offering wines such as
barbera. The winery has been passed down four generations operated
by the 4 grandsons of Piero Coppo and continued on further by Edoardo
and Massimiliano.
Coppo Family
The family has made many changes over the years
through new wine cellars, renovations, investments in equipment and
have tried to stay true to the traditions of the winery while also
trying to appeal to the broader audience and the demands of the wine
world. The winery's philosophy stated on their site is the following
“a wine is produced because it is part patrimony of the history of
the locals as well as part of the family’s tradition”. This is
what I find beautiful about the wines of Italy. There is deep
heritage and roots behind the scenes of each wine. It's more than
just the wine. It's the story told from hundreds of years and how
the wines came to be.
Coppo Wine Cellar
Coppo winery
The wines of Gavi are from the
Monferrato area within the Alessandria province of Piedmont. This
area is very close to the Liguria wine region known as the Italian
Riviera. As you can see from the pictures the soil is made up of
pieces of gypsum (a calcium sulfate mineral), calcareous marl
and rocky soil, which produces wine with minerality. The soil
consists of marine sedimentary, therefore, Gavi is a
nice pairing with shellfish and seafood. It's also good with bagna
cauda, a piedmont dish which is a sauce consisting of olive oil, anchovies and garlic along with vegetables.
The producer that helped put Gavi on
the map, La Scolca, introduced Gavi to the states which set off the
popularity. That wine became known as Gavi dei Gavi. Gavi had been
a white wine that rivaled being one of the leaders in Italy
throughout the 1960's and 1970's until pinot grigio hit the scene and
became the star grape.
Gavi became a DOCG in 1998. Gavi is made of the cortese grape native to Piedmont and is typically florally on the nose with white flowers, lemon, honeydew and green apples. On the palate its bone dry and fresh and crisp with citrus and minerality.
Cortese grape that makes up Gavi
Coppo produces a variety of grape
varietals including barbera, freisa, chardonnay and moscato that are
produced around the comune of Canelli except their nebbiolo and gavi
wines produced not far outside this area. The “La Rocca” estate
is located in Monterotondo where their Gavi has been produced for
over twenty years.
The 2013 Coppo La Rocca Gavi was straw yellow with a pleasant florally nose the smelled refreshing like peaches, golden apple and sweet almond. It was dry on the palate and medium in body. It was moderately crisp and sapid with nice apple on the finish. Most pictures compliments of the Coppo winery. Grazie mille!
